Brand Endorsement: Rajinikanth-0 Kabali-220cr

Marketing is a great field to be in, if you enjoy the endless meetings to discover that ‘one idea’, the adrenaline rush of actually finding the winning formula and of course the high of popularising a product.

And if by product, you mean a 65 year old, South Indian man, sharp looks, white lungi and the humblest man on earth: Your work is cut out for you.

With every brand on the planet, (Yes I mean planet!) jostling to get a piece of the pie ( film) in this case, you would think that the marketing teams job is a cake walk. It would be if the superstar in question would be on board with the marketing gimmick- A press conference on the sets, a brand store launch , a movie inspired clothing line unveiling event etc ,specially created video game etc etc. But without the marketing magnet in the picture, the team had to take the back route- Surrogate advertising.

6 biggest, best brands in the country were to take a deal which had no personal endorsement from the Tamilian film god, no promise of meet and greet with fans or even a web chat…and they took it. That is the power of #Rajinikanth.

If I was on team #Kabali, I would be on a high. Creating stories without the main lead is an impossible task, but whether it was Air Asia’s flight of Kabali , Fox’s Ice Age trailer with the characters singing to the popular song ‘Neruppu Da ‘ or even Muthoot FinCorp’s Rajini stamped silver-gold coin collection, the brands weaved the story well in the absence of the endorser.

How ?

Ensuring that they capitalised on their investments in the only way that they could- by reaching out to the fans.

200 crores of revenue from marketing deals without lifting a single finger and with all parties walking away happy.

I wonder if this Rajnikanth-ism will change the rules of the game- forever.